Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius l) is a member of the compositae family. Safflower was first cultivated in the Near East thousands of years ago as a source of dye and other products that can be derived from the plant. (Li and Mundell, Safflower (Carthamus tincorius l), IPGRI No. 7, 1996). Safflower in this century has been utilized as a source of edible oils. Safflower was introduced to agriculture in the United States in the 1930's. With the introduction of varieties with improved oil content in the 1950's, safflower found a niche in the agricultural system. Safflower is primarily grown in the Central Valley of California, and to a lesser extent, in the Northern Plains States.
The original cultivars of safflower contained high levels of linoleic acid. Indeed, safflower has higher linoleic acid levels than any other oilseed crop grown commercially. These varieties also have the highest ratio of unsaturated to saturated fats compared to other oilseed crops. (Li and Mundell, supra, 1996.) In the 1950's, an oleic variant of safflower was first described by Horowitz (Horowitz, "A New Safflower Oil with a Low Iodine Value," Nature, 179:582,583, 1957). This variant was genetically described in 1963 by Knowles and Mutwakil (Knowles, P. F. and Mutwakil, A., "Inheritance of Low Iodine Value of Safflower Selections from India," Economic Botany, 17(2):139-143, 1963). Subsequent breeding resulted in the release of UC1, an oleic variety of safflower (Knowles, Hill and Ruckman, "High Oleic Acid Content in New Safflower UC-1," California Agriculture, pp. 15-16, December, 1965). Oleic safflower varieties were subsequently released commercially, and in recent years have come to dominate the safflower market. The release of oleic safflower types marked the first time that one species was represented by varieties differing substantially in fatty acid type. Later discoveries accented the variability present in the safflower gene pool. Most notably a high stearic line (Ladd and Knowles, "Inheritance of Stearic Acid in the Seed Oil of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)," Crop Science, 10:525-527, September-October 1970) and a very high linoleic line (Futehally and Knowles, "inheritance of Very High Levels of Linoleic Acid in an Introduction of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L) from Portugal," Proceedings of the First International Safflower Conference, pp.56-61, 1981) were described. This variability has opened the possibility of creating new safflower varieties with unique fatty acid profiles for edible and industrial uses.
Safflower oil primarily comprises the fatty acids palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids: palmitic (C16:0) and stearic acids (C18:0) are saturated fatty acids; oleic (C18:1) and linoleic (C18:2) are unsaturated fatty acids.
Numerous health studies have been conducted in recent years linking the types of fats consumed to health issues, especially cholesterol levels. It has been recognized that unsaturated fatty acids have superior health benefits compared to saturated fatty acids, especially those containing fewer than eighteen carbon atoms. Saturated fats with eighteen or more carbon atoms seem to have little or no effect on cholesterol levels (Vessby, "Implications of Long-Chain Fatty Acid Studies," INFORM, pp. 182-185. 1994).
Recent studies regarding fatty acids and health issues, especially heart disease, indicate an advantage of oleic acid over other vegetable oil fatty acids, or at least fewer disadvantages than such fatty acids. There have been conflicting results among studies, but two recent findings are noteworthy. It has been found that oleic acid is superior to linoleic acid regarding cholesterol level and levels of HDL (Mattson and Grundy, "Comparison of effects of Dietary Saturated, Monounsaturated, and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Plasma Lipids and Lipoproteins in Man, Journal of Lipid Research, 26:194-202, 1985). Trans fatty acids, created through hydrogenization of unsaturated fatty acids, have the effect of elevating cholesterol levels. Recent studies (Aro et. al., "Adipose Tissue Isomeric Trans Fatty Acids and Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Nine Countries: the EURAMIC Study," Lancet, 345:273-278, 1995; and Roberts et al., "Trans Isomers of Oleic and Linoleic Acids in Adipose Tissue and Sudden Cardiac Death, Lancet, 345:278-282, 1995) indicate that trans-oleic acid may have fewer health problems than originally thought and that it may be less detrimental than trans-linoleic acid.
From a health standpoint, a vegetable oil with increased oleic acid as well as decreased palmitic acid would be highly desirable. Since palmitic acid is the only saturated fat with fewer than eighteen carbon atoms found in safflower in significant amounts, a safflower variety with decreased palmitic acid and increased oleic acid would be highly desirable.
Higher oleic acid levels also have potential for industrial uses. Increases in oleic acid are highly correlated with lower levels of linoleic acid (Knowles, "Variability in Oleic and Linoleic Acid Contents of Safflower Oil" Economic Botany, 19:53-62, 1965). Low levels of linoleic acid correlate positively with oil stability (Purdy, "Oxidative Stability of High Oleic Sunflower and Safflower" JAOCS, 62(3):523-525, 1985). Highly stable oils have uses in a number of markets. Manufacturers use oleic acid for infant formula and food supplements due to the greater shelf life of the oil. Oils with greater stability are being sought as an agent in spray-on flavor additives. If the oleic acid level could reach or exceed 90% additional markets would be available. Included in these markets are artificial coconut butter substitutes which attempt to duplicate cocoa butter, and in pharmaceutical and industrial creation of pure oleic acid. This process is currently done using inexpensive oils low in oleic acid. Oleic acid levels in the 90% range would make a more cost efficient means of purifying the oil. A number of other industrial uses for oleic safflower have been proposed and tested. A safflower variety with increased oleic acid and decreased linoleic acid may be superior to current oleic types for use in any of these projects. A complete summary of industrial oil uses can be found in the 5 volume book Bailey's Industrial Oil & Fats Products. A summary of industrial uses for safflower oil is given in Chapters 8, 9, and part of 15 of SAFFLOWER (Smith, "Safflower," AOCS Press, Chapters 8, 9, 15. pp. 254-260, 365-369. 1996).